Coton swabs

[Spey_Phantom]

Most people use little coton swabs to clean out there ears out, well i found a new use for them.  B)

for a while now ive been trying to find out an alternative for paintbrushes witch u have to throw away after a certain time of usage  

so ive been testing with dryed out crayons (witch turned out to be good for painting window metallines), then i tested the swabs and discovered certain ups and downs about this test.


ups

-not expensive to aquire and use.
-verry good for "free hand" camo applying.
-gives a fine but good covering to your model surface.
-can sometimes be used for clearing away paint after slight spill
-good for painting tires
-paint appears to dry much faster


 downs

-absorbs more paint then brush
-sometimes causes hairs and bubbles in you paint (but can easely be wiped away with the swab)
-could get stuck to a sharp edge off a wing or fuselage.


ive painted my tempest (posted earlier) using this method and im verry happy with the result. already 20 off my models have been painted this way B)

[Hobbes]

I don't know what you do with your brushes, but mine last forever. I don't use anything fancy, just basic Revell brushes that cost E1-2 apiece. I do clean 'em thoroughly after use (leave them in thinner for an hour) and make sure no paint is left in them.
After cleaning, I dip the brush in oil (most sources recommend linseed oil, but cheapskate that I am, I use motor oil) to prevent the brush from drying out - but I've only recently started doing that. I've got brushes that are 10 years old and still work fine.